


Forever in the End

by marcasite



Series: In the End [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 05:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2258292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marcasite/pseuds/marcasite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wonders if she can feel the weight of his lies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever in the End

here's a tree in the meadow  
With a stream drifting by  
And carved upon that tree I see  
"I love you till I die"

 

There’s a planet full of rocks and dust, dusted with red and gold with a sky of amber hues. The air is cool, the breeze gentle enough to allow the creatures that traverse the sky to lift and float. She clasps her hands in delight and steps closer to him. And when he asks her how long will she stay with him, he’s not surprised by her response at all. 

 

 

I wish we could stay away forever, she says. I wish that we could just travel amoungst the stars, just you and I. There’s a wistful note in her voice. 

He smiles at her, throwing a light note into his voice. Where do you want to go? I can take you to see the forests of Alzarius or the many moons of Avalon. He doesn’t chastise her for the word forever, though it echoes around in his mind taunting him with doubt and foreshadow. Instead he laughs and acknowledges that there really isn’t much he wouldn’t do for her. 

She laughs, silently accepting his change of subject. Let’s see all those moons.  
So once again, he pulls a lever and they’re off. She’s laughing in the background and all he can hear is the tick of time, winding its way down.

It’s time to go home, it says.

 

 

On the planet Torque, he buys her a gold chain. Its design is simple and leads to a locket in the shape of a heart. He has her initials engraved on the inside and puts the Gallifreyan symbol for forever on the other side. He thinks that this is the closet he will ever get to the truth. 

Her eyes shine with unshed tears as he pushes her hair to the side and gently places the metal around her neck. She asks him what the symbol means, clasping the heart in her hand, turning it over and over. I’ll tell you someday, he wants to say. He wonders if she can feel the weight of his lies.

It’s time to go home, he says instead.

 

 

He makes love to her under the stars of Corsica and for the rest of eternity; he knows he will always associate the smell of gardenias and lavender with this moment, with Rose. She tastes of fire and sunlight, berries and fine wine; as he traces his hand over the curve of her face, he understands then that she is the reason he keeps running. He’ll remember how this was, the whisper of her hair tracing a path along his neck; the cadence of her sighs as she slept in his arm, and the warmth of her body next to his. He knows that she holds what he wants and even if he has to steal it from time itself, for just a little bit longer, he’ll do all he can to keep her.

The silence is oppressive between them, nothing that can easily be said. He knows something is coming, knows he should face it with her, but he’s so afraid. He wants her persuade him that they need to stay away, that they are having too much fun away from home. But he is not sure she is ready to say anything all. Hours later, as she winds her hands through his hair and the warmth of her sweet breath burns his lips; he decides that this is fine, this will work, he could change the rules of forever for her.

Winter bleeds into spring and she says, it’s time to go home.

 

 

There’s a planet full of rocks and dust, dusted with red and gold with a sky of amber hues. The air is cool, the breeze gentle enough to allow the creatures that traverse the sky to lift and float. When he asks her how long will she stay with him, he knows what her answer will be.

 

Forever.


End file.
